It is well known to individually weight a golf club head in accordance with the specific characteristics of the golfer using the club. Customizing a golf club head by weight is particularly useful due to the wide variety of different shaft materials and flexes available to the golfer. Golf equipment manufacturers have always been extremely limited in custom fitting a golfer with a club or clubs to fit the particular individual. To custom fit a club, manufacturers have few options, including adjusting the length of the club, the size of the grip, the flex of the shaft, the loft angle and the lie angle.
The most efficient way to fit a club to an individual is to have the proper head weight for that particular individual and for the other club characteristics. Some players may require more weight toward the toe of the club head while other players may require more weight toward the heel of the club head depending on the particular swing characteristics of the individual. Since club heads are mass produced by manufacturers, the weighing of the club heads is always very similar and usually can only be easily adjusted by adding lead tape to the outside of the finished product or by adding lead powder to an internal cavity of the club head. In the case of the lead tape, a golfer is able to add weight to any part of the outside of the club head and in the case of adding lead powder the golfer usually has only one option of where to add the powder. However, in both cases the addition of the extra weight adds weight to the club head which changes the flex of the shaft, the kick point, and the swingweight of the club. With these changes in the overall playability of the club, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to custom fit a golf club to an individual.
There have been many attempts to weight a golf club head in the prior patent art. For example, the Bassin U.S. Pat. No. 3,096,982, shows a golf club which may be adjustably weighted using a plurality of weights which are dispersed in a plurality of pockets to vary the weight of the head. The Beat U.S. Pat. No. 1,543,691, shows a golf club head which uses cylindrical aluminum carriers to hold and position weights within the club head. The Churchwood U.S. Pat. No. 4,085,934, shows a golf club having an impact block located in the club head having a plurality of openings into which rod-shaped weights are slidably inserted in specific positions to adjust the weight of the club head. The Gordas U.S. Pat. No. 4,008,896, shows a weight adjustor assembly that includes an elongated tube disposed in an elongated cavity in the club head that is substantially parallel to the ball striking surface of the head. The Kobayashi U.S. Pat. No. 4,811,949, shows a hollow space for receiving a weight adjusting member at the outer surface of the sole. The Legh U.S. Pat. No. 863,728, shows a golf club head with a lead weight placed directly behind the ball striking face. The Reach U.S. Pat. No. 2,332,342, shows an adjustable weight distribution system for irons with weights directly behind and as part of the striking face of the irons.
The prior art demonstrates a collective approach to adjustable weight distribution in wood-type club heads in which the weights are arranged near the striking face of the club and oriented horizontally or otherwise secured in an awkward, multi-part construction with cover plates or other securing members.
These designs not only make adjustments difficult and less effective, but also interfere with the ability to retain a hollow area behind the striking face for feel and forgiveness considerations, particularly of importance in wood-type clubs.